Driving Offences: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of 17 to 21 year olds using motor vehicles on the road network without insurance in  (a) West Chelmsford constituency and  (b) Chelmsford local authority area.

Paul Clark: No information is held on uninsured driving on a constituency or local authority area basis.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the criteria are for qualification for employment support allowances.

Jonathan R Shaw: The basic qualification conditions for employment and support allowance are that the customer:
	Has limited capability for work;
	Is at least 16 years old;
	As not reached pensionable age;
	Is in Great Britain;
	Is not entitled to Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance.
	There are additional conditions to determine if a customer is entitled to contributory and/or income-related employment and support allowance.

Employment Schemes: Older Workers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to her Department's White Paper on Building Britain's Recovery, whether people currently on  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) employment and support allowance will be eligible for the new specialist back to work support for the over 50's; and when she expects that support to be available.

Jonathan R Shaw: The White Paper announced five new back to work measures for the over 50s, principally designed for those on jobseekers allowance (JSA). However, early access (day one of a claim) to work trials will extend equally to customers on incapacity benefits and employment and support allowance. The new specialist contracted support for over 50s will be delivered as part of the Jobcentre Plus Support Contract (JCPSC), which is an important tool for advisers and an integral part of the JSA customer journey.
	The new JCPSC provision for over 50s will be open to people claiming JSA and New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP), New Deal for Partners (NDP) and Work Focused Support for Carers (WFSC) participants. People in receipt of IB will be able to access the JCPSC provision where they meet the eligibility criteria as a NDLP participant. Partners of customers in receipt of ESA/IB will be able to access the JCPSC provision where they meet the eligibility criteria as a NDP participant.
	We are working to introduce the over 50s measures in spring this year.

Income Support: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her most recent estimate is of the number of people in receipt of income support on the grounds of disability.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is not available in the format requested.

Pensioners: Disabled

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate she has made of the average income of a recipient of  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) disability living allowance who is over 65 years or over.

Jonathan R Shaw: In 2007-08 the median income of individuals in receipt of attendance allowance was £12,900 per year and the median income of disability living allowance recipients aged 65 years or over was £12,200 per year. However, to look at the living standards of recipients of disability living allowance and attendance allowance, it is more appropriate to use equivalised household incomes (where household incomes are adjusted for household size and composition) as presented in the Department for Work and Pensions' Households Below Average Income report. Results on this basis are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Median equivalised annual household incomes of household containing recipients of attendance allowance and disability living allowance who are aged 65 or over 
			   Median annual household income (£) 
			  Group  Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 Recipients of attendance allowance 19,200 18,900 
			 Recipients of disability living allowance 18,500 17,400 
			 All households with someone aged 65 or over 17,000 15,900 
			  Notes:  1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £100.  2. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 26,000 households. Since 2002-03, the Family Resources Survey has covered the whole of the United Kingdom. The Households Below Average Income series is sourced from the Family Resources Survey.  3. Data for 2007-08 were collected between April 2007 and March 2008.  4. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record both incomes and benefit receipt so the estimates presented should be treated with caution.  5. The figures are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government office region population by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.  6. Attendance allowance and disability living allowance amounts have been included as income.  7. The Households Below Average Income series uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalisation factors.   Sources:  1. The Family Resources Survey 2007-08.  2. Households Below Average Income report 2007-08.

Unemployment: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she has taken to reduce levels of unemployment in Leeds West constituency amongst lone parents since 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Lone parents in Leeds, West have access to a wide range of pre-employment and in-work support, including the new deal for lone parents, dedicated personal advisers, working tax credits and in-work credit. Lone parents claiming jobseeker's allowance also have access to support available to other jobseekers, such as to self-employment support, provisions such as work-focused training and recruitment subsidies available as part of the six month offer, the flexible new deal, and access to Local Employment Partnerships, where available.
	According to the Household Labour Force Survey, the employment rate of lone parents in West Yorkshire was approximately 50.2 per cent. in 2001 (Quarter 2) and approximately 52.8 per cent. in 2009 (Quarter 2). West Yorkshire is the smallest region which includes Leeds, West for which the Department has employment data for lone parents.

Electoral Fraud

Gordon Prentice: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Commission is taking to minimise the risk of fraud in the general election.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it is working with police forces, electoral registration officers and returning officers to establish a network of single point of contact officers for electoral matters and has delivered training seminars for police forces and electoral administrators on electoral fraud.
	The Commission has also, with the Association of Chief Police Officers, published guidance for electoral administrators and police forces on tackling electoral malpractice, and has established performance standards for electoral registration officers and returning officers on how to identify fraudulent activity.

General Election Counts

Richard Ottaway: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what information the Electoral Commission holds on the number of election counts that are not planned to commence on the evening of polling day in the general election.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has asked all returning officers to provide information about their current plans for counting ballot papers at the next UK parliamentary general election. This information has been made available in the House of Commons Library.
	In summary, as of 7 January, returning officers for 586 out of 650 constituencies had provided information. Of these, 52 currently do not plan to count ballot papers on the evening of polling day at the general election. A further 17 have indicated they may defer counting in the event that the general election is combined with local authority elections, and 187 were still undecided.

Reform of the House of Commons Committee

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Leader of the House when she plans to bring forward proposals for the House to decide on the recommendations of the Select Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons.

Barbara Keeley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House gave to the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) in oral questions today.

Fly Tipping: Fixed Penalties

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the Flycapture Fixed Penalty Notice dataset for each local authority for 2008-09;
	(2)  what proportion of local authorities provide flycapture fixed penalty notice data for waste receptacle offences to his Department.

Dan Norris: DEFRA collects information from local authorities, on fixed penalty notices for a range of environmental offences, including litter, graffiti, abandoned vehicles and waste receptacles. These are published on the DEFRA website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/local/legislation/fpn/index.htm
	The most recent complete year is 2006-07-the first year many of the FPNs came into being. The return indicates that 43 out of 354 English local authorities (12 per cent.) issued a total of 988 fixed penalty notices for waste receptacle offences.
	Figures for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are being collected from local authorities and these will be published on the DEFRA website shortly.

Legislation: Internet

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will bring forward arrangements to ensure that legislation introduced in the House is published on the internet in the format recommended by mysociety.org in its Free Our Bills campaign.

Nick Harvey: The House Administration is currently considering, together with its counterpart in the House of Lords, a proposal for a Procedural Data Programme to update the IT systems holding data about the proceedings of the House, including Bills and amendments to them, so that the data is made available in an open standardised electronic format. The programme would aim to produce Bills and amendments in an electronic format which both complies with open standards and is readily re-usable so that it can be exchanged between parliamentary systems and made available to the public for further processing by others. This output would be similar to what is being requested in the Free our Bills campaign, and also to what is referred to by the House of Lords Information Committee in its recent Report Are the Lords listening? Creating connections between people and Parliament (HL Paper 138-1, 2008-09). The work would be undertaken in consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, the Office of Public Sector Information (responsible for publishing Acts) and the Cabinet Office.
	Staff are working with the existing software supplier to improve the quality of the XML output from the Bill drafting software. In addition, staff are examining the possibilities of using Bill data in its existing form to publish improved information on the parliamentary website, such as by linking Bill texts to existing Acts of Parliament which the Bill would amend. Some Bill texts showing the amendments made at Committee stage are already published on the parliamentary website (for example, the Financial Services Bill).

Members: Email

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 622W, on Members: email, whether PICT has had discussions with representatives of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) to find a technical fix to allow PGP software to be used on hon. Members' computers in a way which is not incompatible with Parliament's current version of VPN (remote access) software.

Nick Harvey: No. PICT provide support to an alternative encryption software product which is deemed to be completely satisfactory. However, Members are not restricted to using the encryption product that PICT offer and support, and can choose to use other products, including PGP.

Members: Email

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 622W, on Members: email, if the House of Commons Commission will ask PICT to undertake a further evaluation of whether Pretty Good Privacy software can be used by hon. Members following the introduction of new versions of the PGP email proxy and the Infoexpress VPN client.

Nick Harvey: No, there is no need to do so. Members are not restricted to using the encryption product that PICT offer and support.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Olympics with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 517-8W, on the Olympic Games 2012: construction, if she will list the construction contracts which have been awarded to firms based on each region.

Tessa Jowell: Full details of Olympic Delivery Authority's direct suppliers, including a map showing benefits to each region is available on London 2012's website at:
	www.london2012.com/get-involved/business-network/oda-suppliers/index.php
	Details of companies which have construction contracts through the supply chains of ODA's tier one contractors are also provided on the website, this includes the region they are from.

Helicopters

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of each helicopter type in the  (a) Army Air Corps,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force is (i) in service and (ii) fit for purpose.

Quentin Davies: Operational capability is measured in terms of flying hours rather than the number of airframes available. All rotary wing operational requirements are currently being met.
	"In-Service" has been taken to mean the effective fleet which covers all aircraft barring those which are redundant, declared surplus or awaiting disposal. Aircraft in the Forward Fleet are those aircraft that are available to Front Line Commands for Operational and training purposes. "Fit for purpose" has been taken to mean which are 'Available'. This is defined as those aircraft within the Forward Fleet that are considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date. The number of helicopters available varies from day to day, primarily due to routine maintenance requirements.
	All aircraft in the Forward Fleet which are not Available are classified as Short-Term Unserviceable, because they may be undergoing first-line maintenance, other minor works or being prepared for transportation. Aircraft which are Short-Term Unserviceable can usually be made Available relatively quickly.
	The Departmental Fleet comprises effective and non-effective aircraft. Non-effective aircraft are those aircraft still on the Military Register which are declared surplus and awaiting disposal and are no longer expected to be flown. Effective aircraft comprise those in the Depth Fleet and those in the Forward Fleet.
	Aircraft in the Depth Fleet are those which are undergoing modification, depth maintenance and repair; in storage (including attrition aircraft); surplus aircraft awaiting classification as 'ineffective'; or Trials aircraft.
	The information requested is shown in the following table. The figures are averages for December 2009.
	
		
			  Helicopter type/mark  Departmental fleet (number of aircraft)  Effective fleet (number of aircraft)  Proportion of departmental fleet that is effective (percentage)  Forward fleet (number of aircraft)  Available (number of aircraft)  Proportion of forward fleet that is available (percentage) 
			  Royal Navy   
			 Lynx Mk3 28 28 100 20 13 65 
			 Lynx Mk8 33 33 100 20 13 65 
			 Merlin Mk1 42 42 100 22 10 45 
			 Sea King Mk 4/6 42 42 100 27 18 67 
			 Sea King Mk5 15 15 100 11 7 64 
			 Sea King Mk7 13 13 100 10 7 70 
			
			  Army   
			 Apache 67 67 100 46 23 50 
			 Gazelle 84 37 44 22 16 73 
			 Lynx Mk 7/9 100 88 88 54 34 63 
			 Bell 212 7 7 100 7 7 100 
			
			  Royal Air Force   
			 Chinook 2/2a 38 38 100 27 21 78 
			 Merlin Mk 3/3a 28 28 100 19 7 37 
			 Puma 34 34 100 24 12 50 
			 Sea King Mk 3/3a 25 25 100 17 9 53

NHS: Negligence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of clinical negligence which were funded by conditional fee agreements were closed in each of the last five years; in how many such cases damages were paid  (a) by agreement to settle and  (b) by award; what the total cost was of defending each such case where damages were paid; how much was paid to claimants in legal costs in (i) total, (ii) base costs and (iii) success fees; and in such cases where damages were paid, how much was paid in after-the-event insurance premiums.

Ann Keen: The information requested is in the following table and was provided by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA). The NHSLA is only able to provide an overall total of claimant costs because a global figure is recorded in their database. To provide a detailed breakdown of claimant costs, including After the Event insurance, would be at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Number of claims where the claimant funding was conditional fee arrangement (CFA) closed April 2004 to March 2009 
			  Year of closure  Number of CFA claims closed  Number of claims  Damages paid (£)  Defence costs  paid (£)  Claimant costs  paid (£) 
			 2004-05 233 151 4,551,050 886,720 2,084,936 
			 2005-06 861 625 31,892,845 5,177,915 14,448,748 
			 2006-07 1,142 799 46,973,706 7,579,297 22,640,640 
			 2007-08 1,559 1,127 62,559,320 10,596,148 37,934,943 
			 2008-09 1,579 1,120 68,841,494 9,828,907 38,888,773 
			 Total 5,374 3,822 214,818,415 34,068,986 115,998,040

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) husbands and  (b) wives of persons studying in the UK from (i) India, (ii) Pakistan and (iii) Bangladesh were issued with visas for the purpose of entering the UK to join their spouses between January 2007 and December 2009.

Phil Woolas: The number of visas issue to partners
	
		
			  Visas issued: student dependents: January 2007 to September 2009 
			  Visa Category  India  Pakistan  Bangladesh  Total 
			 Student Dependent(spouses + children January 2007 - March 2009 5331 3822 2129 1,1282 
			 Tier four (General) Dependent -Partners April 2008 - September 2009 1869 89 54 2,012 
		
	
	With the introduction of Tier 4 of the Points Based System (Students) on 31 March 2009, the UK Border Agency kept a separate record of visas issued to partners of students. Hitherto, both partners and children of students were recorded in the same category, Student Dependent. It is not therefore possible to provide the information requested except at disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for North East Hampshire of 18 June and 17 August 2009 on his constituent, Mr. Peter Booth.

Phil Woolas: The signed reply letter was sent to the hon. Member for North East Hampshire on 18 January 2010.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Billericay of 27 October and 8 December 2009 on his constituents, Mr and Mrs Adedoyin.

Phil Woolas: Lin Homer, chief executive of the UK Border Agency wrote to the Member on 14 January 2010.

Surveillance: Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 7 January 2010,  Official Report, column 487W, on Members: surveillance, whether guidance has been given to public authorities on the use of surveillance authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in respect of hon. Members and noble Lords.

David Hanson: Guidance to public authorities authorising covert techniques under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is given in Home Office statutory codes of practice approved by Parliament. We are currently revising the codes on covert surveillance and covert human intelligence sources to make it clear that special consideration must be given to authorisations which involve information relating to communications between a Member of Parliament and a constituent in respect of constituency matters. The draft revised codes were laid before Parliament on 5 and 18 January to come into effect on 6 April.

Departmental Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what advertising campaigns for which his Department is responsible have  (a) commenced and  (b) continued in 2009-10; and what the cost of each such campaign has been.

Michael Wills: Advertising expenditure on campaigns is interpreted as advertising expenditure other than for recruitment purposes.
	The nature of the Ministry of Justice's activities-principally administering the courts, prisons, probation and tribunals systems-is such that it does not engage in significant levels of advertising on campaigns.
	A survey of business areas across the Department and its Executive agencies (the National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Courts Service, the Tribunals Service and the office of the Public Guardian) identified the following advertising campaigns which have commenced or continued in the 2009-10 year to date.
	
		
			  Campaign  Cost (£)  Date 
			 Community Payback(1) Funded by Home Office March/April 2009 
			 Youth Justice Campaign(2) Funded jointly by the Youth Task Force and Joint Youth Justice Unit December 2009 
			 Promotional Adverts(3) 2,663 2009/10 (expenditure up until 12 January 2010 
			 Total 26,623 - 
			 (1) The Community Payback campaign was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and ran in March/April 2009. It was funded by the Home Office as part of the wider Justice Seen Justice Done campaign. The campaign informed the public of their power to nominate projects through which offenders can pay back local communities for their crimes without taking away work from others or making a profit for anyone.  (2) The Youth Justice campaign was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and ran in December 2009 in the north-west of England. The campaign informed people of measures in place to tackle youth antisocial behaviour and offending. The total cost of £122,559 was funded by the Youth Taskforce (part of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)) and the Joint Youth Justice Unit (which is managed and funded jointly by the DCSF and the Ministry of Justice).  (3) The Law Commission within the Democracy, Constitution and Law division of the Ministry of Justice spent £2,663 on a number of promotional adverts in law journals, primarily to raise the profile of the Law Commission in order to: improve the rate at which proposals get implemented encourage a wider level of response to proposals on law reform encourage buy in for current and future work to continue the promotion of better law. 
		
	
	In addition to these outward facing campaigns, the Ministry's Communications Directorate has undertaken various internal campaigns to promote specific corporate initiatives to staff. The cost of these campaigns cannot be separately identified from the wider work of the Communications Directorate.

Government Departments: Telecommunications

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will discuss with BT improvements to the resilience and security of its telecommunications services to Government Departments.

Tessa Jowell: BT and other suppliers of telecommunications services to Government Departments discuss these issues with senior officials directly and in a number of forums including in the Electronic Communications-Resilience and Response Group.

Apprentices

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of  (a) 16 and  (b) 17 year-olds are (i) employed and (ii) non-employed apprentices on (A) Level 2 and (B) Level 3 frameworks.

Iain Wright: According to DCSF official participation estimates for young people in England at the end of 2008, 3.1 per cent. of academic age 16-year-olds were on a level 2 apprenticeship and 0.7 per cent. were on a level 3 apprenticeship. The corresponding figures for 17-year-olds were 4.9 per cent. on level 2 apprenticeships and 1.4 per cent. on level 3 apprenticeships.
	These estimates are based on snapshot data for the end of 2008 and on the highest course of study of the young person. They cannot be broken down by employment status because the Learning and Skills Council's Individualised Learner Record (ILR) which is the source of information for apprenticeships only has employment status when they start their apprenticeship and this often changes during their time on an apprenticeship.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 201W, on the Middle East: armed conflict, what steps are being taken to remove white phosphorus contamination from rubble in Gaza; how many sites have been found to be contaminated; what timetable is envisaged for decontamination; and what assessment has been made of the risk to public health arising from such contamination.

Michael Foster: Following the end of the conflict the UN Mine Action Team (UNMAT) carried out an unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance operation and any white phosphorus (WP) rounds that were found, whether leaking or intact, were removed and neutralised. During this initial phase UNMAT assisted in the destruction of over 100 WP rounds. UNMAT has also removed and neutralized 53 WP rounds found in further clearance operations carried out since July 2009.
	Currently, the UN does not know of any contaminated sites where WP remains. However, there may be a residual risk in buildings and areas yet to be cleared. The removal of UXO and explosive remnants of war (ERW) from rubble and agricultural areas will continue until July 2010.
	The World Health Organisation (WHO) is unaware of any assessments of the risk to public health arising from WP contamination. However, UNMAT notes that exposed WP normally burns immediately, leaving remnants which pose a limited risk. Unexposed WP is safe until it is discovered or exposed to air. If WP is exposed during clearance, UNMAT is ready to deal with the situation immediately.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 256W, on the Middle East: armed conflict, what arrangements his Department has made to meet the housing needs of the 60,000 families identified as being in need; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) supported the provision of basic shelter by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the immediate aftermath of the conflict. The Prime Minister, other UK Ministers and officials have repeatedly pressed the Government of Israel to permit the import of materials for the reconstruction of homes and other buildings.
	We are pleased that Israel has now allowed some glass to enter, but we will continue to advocate on this issue. We are also following with interest the UNRWA pilot project to build three houses using locally-manufactured compressed earth bricks, made from locally sourced materials such as sub-soil and aggregates.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks, of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 255W, on Palestinians: overseas aid, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the decision of the government of Israel to link aid and reconstruction materials access to Hamas's refusal to renounce violence constitutes collective punishment of the people of Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: We have serious concerns about the Israeli restrictions on Gaza and the impact they have on the lives of Gazans. Although there is no permanent physical Israeli presence in Gaza, given the significant control that Israel has over Gaza's borders, airspace and territorial waters, Israel retains obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention as an occupying power. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that an occupying power must co-operate in allowing the passage and distribution of relief consignments. The restrictions currently imposed on the passage of relief supplies are, as we see it, a disproportionate response to the security threat.
	The extent of Israeli restrictions, and the threat to Israel from militants in Gaza, varies constantly. Rather than focus on whether the restrictions at any given time, amount to collective punishment, we have consistently pressed the Israeli Government to comply with their obligations under international law and allow passage of relief supplies. Although aid is entering Gaza, according to the United Nations this is insufficient to meet the needs of the Gazan people.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to establish a compensation scheme for surface workers as part of the British Coal Respiratory Disease Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: No.
	Miners with surface only exposure to dust were not covered by the 1998 High Court Respiratory Disease Judgment and not included under the Claims Handling Agreement (CHA). The Department's position has been that the levels of respirable dust (rather than visible dust) in surface jobs was not sufficient to cause lung disease. Despite the Department's position on these cases, I recognise there has been a long-standing campaign to seek compensation for surface workers. In an attempt to settle this issue, four "test" cases were to be brought before the court for determination in November 2009.
	I can now report that at a pre-trial court hearing on 9 October 2009, the solicitors acting for the four selected claimants conceded the litigation on all four cases and costs were awarded to the Department. When advising the court of the position, the claimants' counsel said:
	"in the light of the expert evidence in each case, the court was likely to make findings in relation to dust exposure that would make it difficult for any of these four claimants to establish any significant injury."
	On this basis, no case for compensation has been established in respect of surface workers with surface only exposure.
	However, due to the Department's diligence, I can report that c.650 claims previously identified as Coal Preparation Plant only claims by their solicitors were found to be able to be compensated as "mixed workers" under the CHA and these are now being processed. Additionally, another c.200 claims are now having their underground only employment assessed and settled.
	Under a Court Order agreed in December 2009, and not opposed by the claimant's solicitors, all remaining surface only claims are now in the "strike out" process for mid February 2010.

Warm Front Scheme

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of back boilers which have been replaced under the Warm Front scheme in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since its inception.

David Kidney: The following table shows the total number of boilers replaced by the Warm Front Scheme in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since the current phase of the Scheme began in 2005, but does not differentiate between back boilers and other type of boiler replaced under Warm Front. Details on types of boiler being replaced are not recorded.
	
		
			  Boilers Installed  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1)  Total 
			 Jarrow 31 104 248 257 160 800 
			 South Tyneside 80 295 493 550 291 1709 
			 North East England 1175 4745 7379 8448 6152 27899 
			 England 14,136 53,436 75,600 80,458 66,212 289,842 
			 (1) Up to 3 December 2009

Fire Services

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) original timetable was and  (b) the latest timetable is for the (i) Firelink, (ii) FireBuy Integrated Clothing and (iii) FireControl project.

Shahid Malik: The ministerial announcement of the Firelink project was made in May 2002 with completion scheduled December 2007. Subsequently the contract was awarded in March 2006 and roll-out to fire service vehicles commenced in November 2008, with completion revised to March 2010.
	The original timetable of the Integrated Clothing Project was for Firebuy to let the contract by December 2006. The purchase only part of the contract was signed in November 2007 and the fully managed service option was signed in May 2008.
	The original go-live timetable for the FiReControl project was to complete in December 2007 in line with the Firelink project. The current estimated go-live date is May 2011.

Fire Services: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) original and  (b) most recent cost estimate is for the (i) Firelink, (ii) Firebuy Integrated Clothing and (iii) FireControl project.

Shahid Malik: The information is as follows:
	 (i) On a comparable basis the Firelink cost estimates are:
	Original contract award 29 March 2006: £353 million.
	Current estimate, August 2009: £313 million.
	 (ii) There is no recent separate cost estimate for the Firebuy Integrated Clothing Project. This is one of a number of contracts established within the fire and rescue service procurement remit of Firebuy.
	 (iii) For the FiReControl project, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 764W.

Fire Services: Pay

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 10 December 2009,  Official Report, column 586W, on fire services: finance, what performance targets officials on the FiReControl project met in respect of which bonuses to justify the bonuses; and which performance targets are used to assess the award of bonuses to officials working on the project.

Shahid Malik: These payments have been made in line with the Department's pay and reward policy.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many people resident in Crewe and Nantwich constituency have received funding from the Mortgage Rescue Scheme;
	(2)  how many people resident in Crewe and Nantwich constituency have received funding from the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme.

John Healey: In the current economic conditions, we have acted rapidly to put in place help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage, and launched a campaign to ensure households have clear information about the help available. Over the last year, over 330,000 homeowners have received help and advice with their mortgage, and targeted safety net schemes are available for those in most need. Repossessions, arrears and voluntary repossessions are currently running at around half the rates at which they peaked in the early 1990s.
	As part of the monitoring arrangements for the Mortgage Rescue Scheme, headline data for January-September 2009, provided by local authorities and broken down by Government Office Region, are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/mortgagerescuestatistics
	Figures reported by local authorities are provided in a table, which has been placed in the Library. Data is not collected at constituency level. Data for the October-December period will be published on 11 February 2010.
	The Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme was launched in April 2009. Management information on Homeowners Mortgage Support and equivalent forbearance schemes was released by the Department on 9 December 2009. Figures can be accessed using the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1408110
	Data is not collected at constituency level.

Economic Situation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the productivity of the UK in relation to other G7 countries since 1991.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury and BIS are jointly responsible for Public Service Agreement 1 (PSA 1) - to raise the productivity of the UK economy. One of the objectives of PSA 1 is to narrow the output per worker productivity gap between the UK and comparator nations (the USA, Germany and France).
	To assess progress against narrowing the productivity gap, HM Treasury use ONS data from their biannual International Comparisons of Productivity(1) statistical release. Results are presented for the UK relative to the US, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy and the G7 in aggregate. Since 1991, the start of the ONS data series, the UK has experienced faster average productivity growth than all other G7 countries(2).
	(1) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=9671
	(2) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/ICP_HeadlineTables.xls